Distributors provide products to retailers for sale. Typically, a distributor will provide a number of the latest products to the retailer. The products are often provided without regard to the needs of the consumer. As a result, some of those products are sold by the retailer, and some are not. The surplus that is not sold generally cannot be sent back to the distributor. As a result, the retailer will typically put the surplus “on sale”, often at a loss.
Product placement can be key in determining whether a product is sold at the retail level or whether the product remains unsold. A manufacturer may provide guidelines as to how its products are to be displayed. These guidelines may be a result of time and effort spent to determine how to achieve optimal, or at least enhanced, sales based on product placement. However, these guidelines are subject to interpretation by the retailer and local store. As a result, the actual product display at a retail location may deviate considerably from the one intended either by the manufacturer or the retailer. The manufacturer or the retailer may be unable to enforce compliance with their guidelines among retail outlets without policing the retail outlets in person. This can be impractical, particularly where there are a large number of retail outlets.